Admission and Trustee Distinguished Scholarship Chances

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rice University
1

<p>I am interested in seeing what my chances are for first getting into Rice University in the spring of 2013. Secondly, I know of the Trustee Distinguished Scholarship, the Trustee Diversity Scholarship, and the Century Scholars Program. Is it possible to get all three or one of the the Trustee ones AND the Century Scholarship? Please post what my chances of admission are and then what my chances are of getting one of the Trustee Scholarships and the Century Scholarship as well.</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Ethnicity: South Asian American (Pakistani)</p>

<p>Age: 17</p>

<p>Schools: Large Public in IN (9)
Small Private in TN (10-11)
Medium Public in TN (12)</p>

<p>Family: MD (Dad), Master's (Mom), 2 younger siblings, 180K income (for financial aid)</p>

<p>Recs (Potential- I've talked to the teachers about what they will write): AP Euro History Teacher, AP Bio Teacher, Counselor (Even though I was there for only one year, I was always at the top of my class and did much better than my previous record)</p>

<p>Essays (Potential) : One on being an agnostic Pakistani Democrat in Tennessee, One on how I found a passion for learning(which had previously felt forced), especially math and science, that drove me to study all of them for many hours and partake in competitions.</p>

<p>Intended Major: Physics or Math</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>Grades (9-11): Semester 1 (9): 7A/1B, Semester 2 (9): 1A/4B/1C, Semester 1 (10): 5A/1B, Semester 2 (10): 5A/1B, Semester 1 (11): 2A/4B, Semester 2 (11): 5B/1C in All Honors Classes and 2 AP Classes: AP Chemistry (Semester 1: B, Semester 2: C+) and AP Calculus BC (Semester 1: A-, Semester 2: B)</p>

<p>Senior Course Load and Grades (Potential): All A's (97% or better) in AP Biology, AP Physics B, AP European History, AP English Literature, AP Statistics, and Honors Spanish 4, at School and an A in Organic Chemistry with Lab in an online class </p>

<p>GPA/Class Rank (Potential): 3.88 (Weighted) Ranked in Top 25% in 300 Students</p>

<p>SAT: 2400 ACT: 36 SAT Chemistry: 800, SAT Math II: 800, SAT Physics: 800, SAT Biology M: 800, SAT US History: 800, SAT World History: 800</p>

<p>AP Exam Scores: NONE</p>

<p>Extra-Cirricular Activities:</p>

<p>Speech and Debate (10-12): State 2nd Place (10), 350 Tournament Points</p>

<p>Piano (9, 11-12): Gold Star Rating in Region (9), Did Well in Regional Festival (12-Potential)</p>

<p>Mock Trial (11): Lawyer- 2nd Place in Region</p>

<p>Young Democrats (10-11): VP (11)</p>

<p>NHS and Mu Alpha Theta Member (10-12)</p>

<p>Community Service (10-12): 100 Hours in Mosque and Science Center; Mathcounts Coach (12-Potential)</p>

<p>Math Club (9, 12): President (12-Potential)</p>

<p>Student Newspaper Member (12-Potential)</p>

<p>Table Tennis Club (12-Potential)</p>

<p>Research (12-Potential): Independent Research done in Science</p>

<p>Other Awards/Distinctions: Regional Math Test Top 5 (9, 10), National Merit Commended Scholar (12), National AP Scholar (12-Potential), State Math Problem Solving Test Top 10 (12-Potential)</p>

<p>Awards to be sent after initial submission of application (all potential): </p>

<p>Intel STS Semi-Finalist in Math (Sent in Late January)</p>

<p>USA Physics Olympiad Semi-Finalist and AMC 12 Top 1% (Mid-February)</p>

<p>USA Chemistry Olympiad Top in Region and USA Biology Olympiad Semi-Finalist (Early March)</p>

2

<p>I don’t really know any of the answers but I feel obligated to tell you this.

I’ve had people tell me NEVER to write your essay on religion or politics, as depending on your grader this could hurt you a lot.</p>

3

<p>@runallday4, I will change that essay topic as others have told me the same thing. To others, please answer my two original questions. I really appreciate it.</p>

4

<p>Hi, DoctorMagic! I’ll try my best to (partially, at least) answer your questions:</p>

<p>1) I think your test scores and ECs definitely put you in the range of having a shot at getting in. Really, though, once you’ve shown the admissions committee that you’re capable of meeting the academic requirements at Rice, in my opinion, everything else is about showing them who you really are through your writing. Regarding your essay, I think it’s really all about how you approach your topic. I’ve read some essays about somewhat risky material that have been played really well, so a potentially contentious topic doesn’t necessarily translate to an “offensive” essay, but like runallday said, you just never know who’s going to be grading your paper. For what it’s worth, I think it’s more about how you write rather than what you write, so it’s probably possible to pull off the essay you were thinking about doing, but I’d just be cautious and make sure it’s not going to rub anyone the wrong way. </p>

<p>2) In all my posting/lurking here on CC and talking to students, I’ve personally never heard of someone getting a Distinguished or Diversity Scholarship AND becoming a Century Scholar, although that’s not to say that it’s impossible. I would, however, think that it would be improbable to get both a Trustee Distinguished and a Trustee Diversity scholarship. Most people that I’ve seen who’ve won a scholarship have only gotten one, myself included. Again, I’m not suggesting that it’s never happened or that it can’t happen, only that it’s probably more of a stretch to aim for getting more than one.</p>

<p>Best of luck in the application proccess! :)</p>

5

<p>@LastShadow, thank you very much. Others, please.</p>

6

<p>Would like to confirm that it’s possible to get trustee + century (or engineering + century, for others who may be wondering).</p>

<p>Re: the essay, think about what you can bring that makes you unique to RICE when considering other topics (e.g. you wouldn’t be the only agnostic, left-voting Pakistani here, but you’d probably be the only something else). Then again, my freshman wrote about being a liberal athiest in Louisiana and got in with merit scholarship. Seems like passion is much more important than topic of choice.</p>

7

<p>I know someone that has received Century+Trustee Distinguished, but having the combination is rather rare. </p>

<p>In terms of receiving any merit scholarship, roughly 12-15% of admitted students are offered one (this does not include the National Merit Scholarship, but I’m not sure how that translates to students that matriculated. % stats are from a well-connected personal friend. Also, you cannot receive both Trustee Distinguished and Diversity (I’m almost certain). </p>

<p>In terms of getting one of the merit scholarships, the Diversity one (from talking to others) is generally for people who have overcome challenges with respect to diversity, did something extensive to promote diversity, or something rather unique in that regard. This is where your supplement essay will become crucial (the diversity supplement essay = trustee diversity scholarship “application” essay, per se). The Distinguished one is for unique personal talents that Rice wishes to attract to the community, and is definitely more open ended. From others, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that someone who has been very committed to an extracurricular activity (or area of interest) all throughout high school and has distinguished him/herself in that area has a better chance of receiving one. (I received the Trustee Distinguished and know of several other people that have as well, so this one is kind of a hunch).</p>

<p>Overall, I think you have an excellent shot of getting in, but with one small concern: the C in AP Chemistry. Normally, AP Chemistry is tough, but considering other stuff you’ve done (Chem SAT II and Chemistry Olympiad), that’s a tad surprising. That shouldn’t have an effect on your final decision, but that’s something I think the admissions committee would note.</p>

8

<p>BUMP…more opinions please.</p>

9

<p>No one can really tell you. Opinions are opinions, and in this case, just guesses. Most likely you would be awarded only one merit scholarship (if any). I think the merit scholarships are most used to supplement need based FA or to attract particularly strong applicants.</p>

<p>My S was wined and dined with Research Rice and yet was not offered a Century Scholarship, but did receive a Trustee Scholarship and great need based FA.</p>

<p>Your experience will like be different.</p>

10

<p>I got the distinguished scholarship, and I’m pretty confident it was my essay and extracurriculars that got it, since my GPA wasn’t exactly perfect. I thought weighted GPA didn’t mean anything though, since schools can manipulate that all they want lol. I kinda played the ethnicity card, since I knew Texas didn’t have many Japanese people, but I really felt what I wrote, so not like I lied or anything. But yeah, I got the distinguished, not the diversity, so watevs. They decide what they decide, and there’s plenty of good schools out there. I’m sure you’ll get into a good one with good financial conditions. Also, you have way better SAT than me.</p>

11

<p>@koker, please don’t avoid the question. I know you are trying to be nice, but do I have any chance of getting into Rice if you take EVERYTHING (including my grades) into context? Second, do I have any chance of getting the distinguished or diversity scholarship at Rice if I play the Pakistani, Ahmadi Muslim, agnostic, Democrat card?</p>

12

<p>Admissions isn’t that complicated, and I think you know how it works. Your unweighted GPA is on the lower side, but overall, you look like you have a decent chance. </p>

<p>Also, for the whole playing the race card idea. What really matters is how powerful your message is. Make your essay personal, and make sure it resonates when other people read it. Racial minority is just a concept that the admissions staff are sensitive to. It can be good, but you have to make sure it’s about you, and not some generic idea. I talked about how I’m Christian and Japanese, living in Japan, and how the country is so skewed in its conception of religion, but how I really want to come back, but how my life at church and my walk as a Christian shapes me, and how to so many Japanese people that’s the weirdest, freakiest thing in the world. To be honest, when I read it now, it’s actually not all that well written. But it really was who I was when I wrote it, so I like it, and I think that’s why it worked.</p>

13

<p>@koker, that makes sense.</p>